Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: a synthesis.
Roland Bobbink,Kevin Hicks,James N. Galloway,Till Spranger,Rob Alkemade,Mike Ashmore,Mercedes M. C. Bustamante,Steve Cinderby,Eric A. Davidson,Frank Dentener,Bridget A. Emmett,Jan Willem Erisman,Mark E. Fenn,Frank S. Gilliam,Annika Nordin,Linda H. Pardo,W. de Vries +16 more
TLDR
Ecosystems thought of as not N limited, such as tropical and subtropical systems, may be more vulnerable in the regeneration phase, in situations where heterogeneity in N availability is reduced by atmospheric N deposition, on sandy soils, or in montane areas.Abstract:
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is a recognized threat to plant diversity in temperate and northern parts of Europe and North America. This paper assesses evidence from field experiments for N deposition effects and thresholds for terrestrial plant diversity protection across a latitudinal range of main categories of ecosystems, from arctic and boreal systems to tropical forests. Current thinking on the mechanisms of N deposition effects on plant diversity, the global distribution of G200 ecoregions, and current and future (2030) estimates of atmospheric N-deposition rates are then used to identify the risks to plant diversity in all major ecosystem types now and in the future. This synthesis paper clearly shows that N accumulation is the main driver of changes to species composition across the whole range of different ecosystem types by driving the competitive interactions that lead to composition change and/or making conditions unfavorable for some species. Other effects such as direct toxicity of nitrogen gases and aerosols, long-term negative effects of increased ammonium and ammonia availability, soil-mediated effects of acidification, and secondary stress and disturbance are more ecosystem- and site-specific and often play a supporting role. N deposition effects in mediterranean ecosystems have now been identified, leading to a first estimate of an effect threshold. Importantly, ecosystems thought of as not N limited, such as tropical and subtropical systems, may be more vulnerable in the regeneration phase, in situations where heterogeneity in N availability is reduced by atmospheric N deposition, on sandy soils, or in montane areas. Critical loads are effect thresholds for N deposition, and the critical load concept has helped European governments make progress toward reducing N loads on sensitive ecosystems. More needs to be done in Europe and North America, especially for the more sensitive ecosystem types, including several ecosystems of high conservation importance. The results of this assessment show that the vulnerable regions outside Europe and North America which have not received enough attention are ecoregions in eastern and southern Asia (China, India), an important part of the mediterranean ecoregion (California, southern Europe), and in the coming decades several subtropical and tropical parts of Latin America and Africa. Reductions in plant diversity by increased atmospheric N deposition may be more widespread than first thought, and more targeted studies are required in low background areas, especially in the G200 ecoregions.read more
Citations
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Nitrogen Transfers and Transformations in Row-Crop Ecosystems
N Millar,G. P. Robertson +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarize findings on the cycling of N in agricultural ecosystems of the Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research site (KBS LTER) and illustrate a number of opportunities to manage agricultural N in ways that improve N conservation and reduce the escape of fixed N to the environment; they also reveal needs for future research to fill knowledge gaps and more fully document the complex cycling of n in cropping systems that range from conventional to organic and from annual to perennial.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nutrient enrichment effects on mycorrhizal fungi in an Andean tropical montane Forest
Camille S. Delavaux,Camille S. Delavaux,Tessa Camenzind,Jürgen Homeier,Rosa Jiménez-Paz,Mark S. Ashton,Simon A. Queenborough +6 more
TL;DR: The results show that AMF in this tropical montane forest are directly affected by soil N and P concentrations, but may also be indirectly impacted by shifts in rarefied tree diversity, which highlights the need to fully understand the benefits and drawbacks of using different sampling methods to robustly examine AMF-plant interactions in the future.
Journal ArticleDOI
Modeling atmospheric ammonia using agricultural emissions with improved spatial variability and temporal dynamics
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe a novel ammonia emission model that quantifies agricultural emissions with improved spatial details and temporal dynamics over the year of 2010, in Germany and Benelux.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nitrogen deposition, habitat restoration and the EU Habitats Directive: moving beyond the deadlock with the dutch programmatic nitrogen approach?
TL;DR: In this article, a more liberal understanding of N mitigation is analyzed for Natura 2000 sites in the EU and it is shown that the strong reliance on the positive effects of future restoration measures stands at odds with the precautionary principle underpinning the Habitats Directive.
Book ChapterDOI
The effects of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity
Jill S. Baron,Mary C. Barber,Mark A. Adams,Julius I. Agboola,Edith B. Allen,W.J. Bealey,Roland Bobbink,M. V. Bobrovsky,William D. Bowman,Cristina Branquinho,Mercedes M. C. Bustamente,Christopher L. Clark,Edward C. Cocking,Cristina Cruz,Eric A. Davidson,O. Tom Denmead,O. Tom Denmead,Teresa Dias,Nancy B. Dise,Alan Feest,James N. Galloway,Linda H. Geiser,Frank S. Gilliam,Ian Harrison,Larisa Khanina,Xiankai Lu,Esteban Manrique,Raúl Ochoa-Hueso,Jean Pierre Henry Balbaud Ometto,Richard J. Payne,Thomas Scheuschner,Lucy J. Sheppard,Gavin Simpson,Y. V. Singh,Carly J. Stevens,Carly J. Stevens,Ian Strachan,Harald Sverdrup,Naoko Tokuchi,Hans van Dobben,Sarah J. Woodin +40 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the findings of a Working Group on how atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition affects both terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity, together with potential indicators such as species compositions and changes in species compositions are related to the relative amounts of N, carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) in the plant soil system.
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